Heathrow to give free advertising space to North East companies for 6 weeks

Date added: April 15, 2015

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is offering companies in the region the chance to be part of a 6-week advertising campaign at Heathrow Airport. The North East is the first of six British regions to be offered free advertising space worth £500,000 at Heathrow and businesses are being invited to submit images they believe best represent the region as the place to invest. Ten images will be shortlisted by the North East LEP for use in the campaign, which will also feature in a 10 second video that will be used on digital platforms at the airport. A final image will also be chosen to front the campaign and be used on two poster sites at Terminal Four and Five. Heathrow hopes this advertising will encourage investors in the regions to fly there, via Heathrow, and this will help rebalance the UK economy. In reality, the regions may be better served by direct links from their own airports, rather than hubbing via Heathrow. The advertising will be seen across Heathrow from 18 May. In late March Heathrow announced it would spend £10 million over three years, to help the development of 5 new domestic routes – hoping to deter development of direct flights from regional airports.
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NORTH EAST LEP OFFERS UP HEATHROW ADVERTISING

14.4.2015 (Insider Media)

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is offering companies in the region the chance to be part of a six-week advertising campaign at Heathrow Airport.

The North East is the first of six British regions to be offered free advertising space worth £500,000 at the airport and businesses are being invited to submit images they believe best represent the region as the place to invest.

Ten images will be shortlisted by the North East LEP for use in the campaign, which will also feature in a ten second video that will be used on digital platforms at the airport. A final image will also be chosen to front the campaign and be used on two poster sites at Terminal Four and Five.

Paul Woolston, chairman of the North East LEP, said it is a “fantastic opportunity” to demonstrate why the North East is a great place to do business.

“Heathrow Airport welcomes 22 million business travellers every year and for six weeks we have the opportunity to get our message across to them,” he added.

“For that reason it’s vital we select an image that tells the story of North East business and reflects the expertise, skills and strong economy we have in the region.”

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “As the UK’s only hub airport, Heathrow is our front door for global investors. I hope that by encouraging them to visit and invest in our great cities, we can help to grow and rebalance the British economy.”

Heathrow plans to cut the fees it charges airlines for domestic passengers. It says that from 1st January 2016 it will reduce the minimum departure charge for all flights (currently £1,406) to £1,268.40 per domestic flight. It will also cut the charge from £29.59 to £19.59 per passenger, in a bid to increase the number of passengers flying between UK regional airports and Heathrow. Heathrow serves just 7 regional destinations, down from 18 in 1990. It hopes the lower charges on domestic routes would encourage fuller planes and make more efficient use of the limited number of slots for regional flights, which are less profitable for airlines than long haul flights. Heathrow also says it will reduce minimum charges per plane to £1,592.15 for EU flights and £2,689.82 for non-EU destinations. It will also cut the per passenger charge for passengers flying to European destinations by £5 to £24.59. They plan instead to charge more for the noisiest planes, and those that emit more NOx – with the overall changes revenue neutral. The aim is discouraging passengers flying via European airports like Schiphol, and using Heathrow instead. The environmental fees would rise from being 21% to being 28% of total airport charges. Heathrow also say that, if they get a 3rd runway, they would open 5 new domestic routes, including Humberside, Newquay and Liverpool.

Heathrow would spend £10 million to increase some domestic flights, only if granted a 3rd runway, to get backing from regions

Date added: March 25, 2015

Heathrow has increasingly cut the number of flights to UK regional airports, as it has become more uneconomic for the airlines to run them – and long haul international routes are more profitable. But Heathrow is aware that it needs to get the backing of regional airports, in order to lobby to be allowed a 3rd runway. Heathrow therefore suggested the setting up of a National Connectivity Task Force. In order to boost flights to the regions, Heathrow now says that – only IF it gets a new runway – it will spend £10 million on for the development of 5 new domestic routes, for 3 years. These would include Newquay, Humberside and Liverpool. That would be in addition to the 4 extra routes that easyJet has said it wants to operate if there is a Heathrow runway, to Inverness, Belfast International, the Isle of Man and Jersey. There are currently 6 domestic routes from Heathrow (Leeds Bradford, Belfast City, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Newcastle). Heathrow also said it would launch a review of its airport charges in the coming weeks to focus on making domestic flights more commercially attractive (cheaper) to airlines. The results of this consultation, which is not dependent upon getting a new runway, will be effective from January 2016.

North East voters win the region a £1m Visit Britain ad campaign at Heathrow Airport

5 August 2014

Tourism and business chiefs have praised the region for its efforts to win a £1m airport ad campaign.

The North East will be advertised to the world after a last minute rush saw it pip Northern Ireland to the Heathrow Airport advertising.

“The whole region really rallied behind the competition and there was a tremendous last push to secure a win for the North East,” said Sarah Stewart, chief executive of the NewcastleGateshead Initiative, which markets Newcastle and Gateshead nationally and internationally.

“It was evident from all of the social media activity that there is a great sense of pride in the region and it was this passion that really made the difference in the eleventh hour.

“We literally pipped Northern Ireland to the post with just a few hundred extra votes.

“£1m worth of free advertising at one of the world’s busiest airports will provide a significant boost, profiling the region to potential visitors and investors from around the globe.